CH 265

Barth Baltic opened the door and stepped into the room filled with the disgusting smell of blood. There was no one standing in the room. However, Barth Baltic could see someone crouching on the darker side of the room beneath the dazzling light coming from the window.

It was Elaine Elliot.

Elaine calmly stared at Bartha and said, “Give me a moment. It’s almost over.”

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A few consecutive dull noises could be heard.

Finally, Elaine stood up and wiped the sweat off her forehead. By her feet was a female dark elf covered in scars. The dark elf was bleeding with her mouth wide open, and her bloody mouth was filled with broken teeth.

“I made a promise with this fella, and I have to keep it.”

Elaine approached Barth with a bloody hammer in her hand. When she saw that Barth’s face was covered in bruises, she revealed a surprised look and asked, “What happened? Who beat you up?”

“I trained with His Majesty.”

“Are you serious? He refused to have fun with me, but he actually went to see you in the meantime. I’m jealous.”

Juan and Barth often trained together, but there was no reason for Barth to receive such a severe beating. However, Elaine had an idea why Barth received such a harsh beatdown.

Juan had exceeded Elaine’s expectations once more. He always seemed like he was a few steps ahead of Elaine. Elaine hadn’t mentioned any names, but Juan easily extrapolated what was necessary.

“Where is His Majesty?”

“He is on his way here. I was supposed to find you while he maintains the sun. We were confused when you suddenly disappeared, but then we remembered that Cali’s believers had similar abilities when we encountered them about half a year ago.”

Juan forcibly manifested the sun, and it quickly faded away once Juan’s influence was gone. The daylight that vanquished the night of the empire soon disappeared, and the empire was once again blanketed in darkness.

Elaine looked around and saw Cali’s believers on the floor. At the sight, she couldn’t help but ask, “I’m assuming that you have nothing to do with these people, Great General?”

Barth’s face distorted when he saw the knight trainee of the Order of the Capital among those on the floor. However, it seemed that he was also suspicious of the knight trainee.

“I apologize about the knight, even though it is not something that can be overlooked by a simple apology. If I were to make an excuse, then it seems that your abductors managed to persuade him to jump ships. Anyway, I will do my best to take care of this.”

Barth reached out and stroked Elaine’s swollen left cheek.

Barth seemed confused.

Upon seeing his expression, Elaine kicked Barth in the leg out of anger. There was no way that Elaine could inflict a lot of damage to Barth’s hard pillar-like leg, but he hurriedly corrected his expression.

“I’ll kill you if you’re thinking that Juan will get mad that I got a wound that might become a scar on my face. Juan fell in love with my kind heart and grace rather than my face.”

“...I’ll keep that in mind.”

A few wounds here and there wasn’t an issue. The most important part was that Elaine had managed to subdue her abductors despite being restrained.

Of course, Juan might get angry that Elaine was hurt, but he wasn’t the type to get angry because of a scar.

Soon, the wall split in the middle, and Juan appeared the moment the sun completely disappeared from the sky. It didn’t seem like he came running because he was walking calmly, but his eyes were full of anxiety and urgency.

Elaine had no doubt that Juan would come to her aid as soon as possible. She rushed toward Juan and jumped into his arms right away. Juan was perplexed, but he held her in his arms without hesitation.

Elaine whispered into Juan’s ear, “The door is over there.”

“Elaine.”

Juan couldn’t examine Elaine’s condition because she was hugging Juan with her legs as if she were a Koala hugging a tree.

However, Juan could tell that Elaine was trying to avoid showing her face to him. Of course, it wasn’t because she was ashamed of the injury she sustained. Rather, it was because she knew that Juan would be heartbroken to see her injured.

“I’m sorry. I—”

“Shhh…!”

Juan closed his mouth. It was obvious why Elaine was abducted.

It was because of Juan himself.

Juan’s heart was boiling in fury, but he felt complicated as well. Not only has Elaine had unpleasant experiences throughout the whole day, but she was also abducted and tortured just because she was the closest person to the emperor.

Juan knew that the issue would be immediately resolved if he made Elaine stay within the confines of the Imperial Palace or assigned guards to protect her. Unfortunately, he knew that Elaine wouldn’t be happy about all that.

“Those assholes called me the emperor’s weakness. Such bullshit, isn’t it?” Elaine smiled and whispered into Juan’s ear. “Killing me won’t weaken you, and there’s no way you’ll give in even if I were taken hostage.”

“Elaine.”

“Just listen...” Elaine hugged Juan even tighter. “Even if it’s a lie, I don’t want you to tell me that you’re going to give in because that will make me feel miserable.”

Juan remained silent.

“Perhaps everyone is right. I could be a parent, the empress, and your lover. The emperor’s weakness is probably the right word to describe who I am. After all, it is true that I really like you. I love you, but…”

Elaine let out a hot breath because Juan was burning hot.

“I love you, but why can’t my existence be separated from you?”

“Why do you want to be separated from me?” Juan asked.

“If you and I aren’t separated, it’ll be meaningless for me to remain as your lover.”

Elaine grinned and playfully bit Juan’s neck.

Juan flinched while Barth covered his eyes with his hand and hurriedly left the room.

Elaine grinned and went on. “I want to love you for who I am; I don’t want to be someone who belongs to you.”

“I don’t understand...”

“I know. It’s my fault for being unable to explain it properly. It’s all because I’m dumb. Or maybe I’m just making excuses because I’m not suitable to be the empress. It’s your fault for liking someone like me.”

Elaine laughed and chewed on Juan’s neck with her canines.

Then, she continued whispering into Juan’s ear, “There’s a meaning behind wanting to love you for who I am and wishing for your eternity. Someone should remember you as Juan Calberg rather than just His Majesty the Emperor, and someone should remember me as Elaine Elliot rather than Her Majesty the Empress.”

Juan wanted to say that Elaine was making a mountain out of a molehill, but all those attributes belonged to both Juan and Elaine, so there was no reason to think of them as separate.

However, Elaine seemed to find it unbearable to be addressed by a title other than her name. Elaine held Juan tightly and stuck close to him as much as she could until where they could feel each other’s hearts.

“Even if a light is faint and trivial, that light belongs to me. I don’t want to be overshadowed by your sun,” Elaine whispered.

Then, she quickly let Juan go and took a step back. Elaine’s appearance became invisible in the shadow of the dim room. However, Juan could clearly feel her in the shadows, and he could feel that her heart was beating fast.

Juan recalled the conversation he had with Elaine in the middle of the night about the proper solution.

Unfortunately, there was only one way for Elaine to resolve this situation.

She had to leave Juan.

“Juan. You know this doesn’t mean that I don’t love you. Right?”

“I know…”

“Even if I end up hating you for some reason, you shouldn’t hate me back. Do you understand?”

“I understand…”

“You know I’ll come back as if I have never left as long you keep on waiting.”

“Of course…”

“I won’t go too far, so don’t worry about me.”

“There are many things I have to be worried about aside from you.”

“That’s good. But you’re the only person I’m worried about. I’ll come to see you from time to time.”

“From time to time?”

“Okay. Maybe more often than you think.”

“I don’t mind even if you bother me anytime you want.”

“But it’ll be under one condition: we will only meet whenever I visit you. You shouldn’t go ahead and start looking for me. Got it?”

“You’re so picky.”

Elaine chuckled and took a few steps backward to hide even deeper into the shadows.

Juan knew that Elaine would hide in a place where neither the emperor’s acquaintances nor enemies could find her. However, he had no doubt that she would be able to live her own life wherever she went.

All of a sudden, Juan realized that Elaine had stopped moving.

He saw that her shoulders were trembling ever so slightly.

Juan felt a strong urge to share his essence with her to give her the power to avoid the curse of aging and death. However, Juan’s identity as the emperor suppressed that urge.

The emperor’s power was the power of mankind.

It couldn’t be used for private purposes.

Elaine took a deep breath and slowly walked out of the shadows toward Juan.

“I thought about saying something sweet as my parting praise, but I can’t think of what to say.”

“You’ve said enough.”

Elaine grinned and pulled Juan toward her.

“Let’s do it one last time before we say goodbye.”

***

In the fall of the forty-seventh year of the imperial calendar, the news of the emperor’s assassination spread throughout the empire.

Elaine was in a deserted location, so Elaine didn’t hear the news until Barth Baltic reached her and told her the news. Elaine was excavating the ruins of an ancient god when Barth Baltic approached her and informed her of the news.

Elain sat on the ruins of the historic site. She repeatedly nodded with glazed eyes.

“I see. Gerard…”

Elaine recalled Gerard’s face. In her memory, Gerard was a just child with a reputation for being timid but thirsty for affection.

Gerard would grow noticeably bigger every time Elaine visited the Imperial Palace, and he eventually grew strong enough to become a textbook model of knights.

She could still see the thirst Gerard had since he was a child, but she had never expected that Gerard would stab Juan in the back.

“Since Gerard has run away, you must be the one maintaining the stability of the regime, Great General.”

“That’s right.”

Elaine looked at Barth. The last time she visited the Imperial Palace, she thought that the contrast between his white horns and black hair was quite impressive. However, Barth had become noticeably older in just a year.

Elaine thought that she was the pot calling the kettle black. After all, she was also about to turn fifty herself.

“Harmon died as well?”

“Yes. Dismas killed him, and I killed Winoa Weaver.”

“What about Ras and Nienna?”

“Ras is involved in the treason, but he is resisting. Nienna came back after hearing about the emperor’s assassination, and she seemed like she was not involved. It’s understandable because there’s no way she’ll be interested in anything else other than the Crack.”

Elaine nodded at Barth’s words.

Then, she raised her head and looked up at Barth Baltic’s face.

Barth had to be busy because the emperor was dead.

In other words, there should have been no reason for him to visit her.

Elaine grabbed her weapon.

“Many people still remember you…” Barth muttered while looking down at Elaine. “They remember you as Elaine Elliot, the one who deceived and blindfolded the emperor.”

“Well, that’s an honor. I guess I have to admit that I’m a charming lady.”

“There’s a crazy guy named Helmut, and he’s quite good at inciting. He’s crazy, but he has been very helpful in patching up the empire. However, he doesn’t like you. In fact, he doesn’t like the fact that there was a woman beside the emperor.”

“I don’t even know who he is…”

“There’s no reason for you to know who he is…”

“So? Did you come to kill me as well?”

Barth wordlessly stared at Elaine for a while.

The uncomfortable silence continued for a long time before he eventually spoke, “I have come here to know some of the truth about the emperor and to know your role as well. I wanted to kill the emperor, but I also wanted to repay him. Unfortunately, the emperor is dead, and I cannot repay him anymore.”

Barth slowly unsheathed his sword while saying, “You have neither a position nor a deep connection to the Imperial Palace. If you had even one child, I would have had no choice but to kill both you and the child, regardless of the father’s identity. However, you never had any...”

“What’s your point?”

“I will spare your life.”

Elaine didn’t mock Barth by saying something like how generous of you.

She had been trying her best to avoid living beneath Juan’s shadow, but she finally realized that what she had been trying to do was impossible in the first place.

‘But if I had stayed beside Juan, I could have died as well.’

If that had happened, then she wouldn’t be able to fulfill his promise of giving birth to Juan if he died.

Barth muttered once more, “However, the records and achievements you have made will be erased from history. The only fact that will remain is the fact that you almost became the emperor’s lover, wife, and empress. The mere fact that you were once the emperor’s lover but were labeled as one of the traitors who assassinated him would be considered the emperor’s disgrace.”

“I understand…”

“Still, I know that every opinion out there about you is all bullshit. You are a great warrior, and I will remember you as a great warrior. I’ll take care not to let you be threatened or found by anyone. I’ll make sure that even those who were involved in the emperor’s assassination won’t find you. However, you should start living in seclusion. With this, my debt to the emperor is settled.”

“Thanks.”

Barth wondered if Elaine was being sarcastic, but he soon noticed that she was truly grateful. It seemed that survival was more important to Elaine than he thought. Of course, Barth had no idea that she had to live for Juan’s sake.

“But all of that is only on the condition that you don’t have children. I won’t be able to protect you anymore if the rumors that Elaine Elliot, the emperor’s lover, gave birth. If that happens, someone else will kill you rather than me.”

Elaine stared indifferently at Barth Baltic, but her eyes were trembling ever so slightly.

‘If I can’t have children…’

She wouldn’t be able to keep the promise she had made to Juan, so her survival would be meaningless.

Barth’s heart felt heavy while staring into Elaine’s eyes.

Unable to bear the weight, Barth turned away and left.

Elaine sat in the same spot for a long time. She remained sitting in the same spot, even though it was already late in the night. The countless stars in the night sky looked cold, and it seemed that the eternal cold and night would continue for the rest of her life.

The chirping night birds sounded like they were singing a funeral song.

Elaine clasped her cold hands.

“If I had known that this would happen, I would have spent more time with you.”

‘If I had died with him, would I have been happier?’

Elaine repeatedly muttered words that no one would hear. Her voice echoed throughout the old historic site, and it sounded like a solemn prayer for a new day.

By the time her voice started to disappear, the sky was starting to turn blue, and the bright red light that rolled down from the horizon as if it were a red carpet erased the stars in the night sky.

Elaine looked up and stared at the sunrise. The light was so bright that it hurt Elaine’s eyes, and a clear circle was reflected in her retina. The massive sun that Juan had manifested a long time ago when she had been abducted appeared in her eye.

Elaine felt like Juan would appear and call her name.

‘This time, I’ll hug him even tighter.’

The warmth of the sun felt like it was embracing her. At the lukewarm light, Elaine felt like crying. Elaine tried to cover the sunlight with her hand, but the sun soon climbed over her hand.

“Don’t be stupid.”

Elaine abruptly looked up at the voice. Then, she realized that it was her own voice. Elaine stared blankly into space for a while, and when the sun had completely risen, she stood up and shook the dirt off of her knees.

Her job wasn’t to sit here in a daze—her job was to fight.

Elaine gnashed her teeth. She stared into the horizon once more and clenched her fists.

Then, she finally took a step forward.

Juan was dead, and everyone in the world would remember her as a wicked woman.

If she was discovered, she could get captured.

In addition, people might keep on laughing at her no matter what.

However, she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

The light was faint and trivial, but it belonged to her. The stars in the night sky were distant, but the light from those stars still originated from the sun.

Elaine was sure of it—she was sure that the faint light she possessed would become like a lighthouse that would guide Juan.